Gearbox oil

What is the best oil for a 1970-odd V-dub gearbox.. just want to change fluid and getting multiple answers.

Corey

80-90w gear oil
L8tr
E

i used some nulon additive also, makes shift feel like slicing butter ;-)

I use the Nulon additive as well.

i think it helps as well, and a 80/90 oil


Marc

Firstly, I know a lot of VW owners who use NULON gearbox additive in their gearbox.

secondly, the gearbox oil has to be HYPOID oil for the differential...
and 85-90 is the correct grade....

straight mineral oil will cause scoring and seizure of the gear teeth...

All the books say to put in about 1 1/2 litres of oil in,then wait for a while [cup of coffee] as it flows thru the transaxle...
then put in the remainder... of the oil...

2.5 litres of oil is a refill...

3 litres of oil if transaxle has been overhauled and the case is totally empty of oil...

Lee



[ Edited on 25-8-2006 by 68AutoBug ]

repco sold me straight 80 oil
after they cheaked the book
???

straight 80 is OK so long as its a HYpoid oil...

Originally it was 75 in winter - or 80 in summer..

check the bottle to make sure its a hypoid Oil..
I'm sure their book would be correct...

Hypoid oil is also corrosive if left in a VW gearbox
while its being stored.
US workshop manuals say to put a non corrosive oil in the gearbox while its stored for winter....
and then change it in the summer...

I'm not sure whether the oil would cause any problems in one winter???
maybe over a few years...

Lee

I recently replaced the oild in my gear box with hypoid 85 oil and a tube of molybdenum disulphide to reduce a rumble. It worked for a while but the rumble is back. When reversing out of home on a cold morning the car doesn't want to roll as the oil is so thick. Once warmed up it's OK.

I use Castrol Multitrax, its specialy desigined for cars with combined gearbox and hypoid diffs. Its designed for low temperature shift and syncroniser characteristics.
Rob...

[ Edited on 25-8-2006 by Robo ]

Ummm well, FWIW, I use Auto Transmission Fluid (ATF) in my gearbox/diff in the F-Vee!!!!!
Synchros work perfectly, diff gears dont gall and the parts dont corrode!!

Bwaasahahahahahahahah!
Racing use only of course!
l8tr
E

Castrol also make a non-hypoid transaxle fluid for type one trans,
it is spiral bevel and not hypoid.
Type 2 would need a hypoid oil.

tassupervee wrote:Ummm well, FWIW, I use Auto Transmission Fluid (ATF) in my gearbox/diff in the F-Vee!!!!!
Synchros work perfectly, diff gears dont gall and the parts dont corrode!!
Racing use only of course!
l8tr
E

I had an L300 Mitsubishi years ago, and i was instructed to change the oil in the gearbox to ATF fluid, as the oil in the gearboxes was too thick.. [from Japan]

It was a Mitsubishi - fix - if You had shifting problems

so, thats what My Gearbox had in it for many years...

Lee

Hmmm interesting.
At the end of the day apart from being less viscous, ATF simply does not have the extreme pressure additives supposedly necessary for protection of the diff teeth.

L8tr
E

no one's mentioned the "GL" rating so far... apparently GL5 can corode the brass/copper componants in oldergearboxes ie: vw ones. GL4 is needed. Well, that's what i'm running to be safe...

Yes VW manuals usually state GL4 hypoid gear oil
but all I can find locally is GL5....

but some manuals state that hypoid oil is corrosive and should not be left in a gearbox during storage...

this should be in large black letters, but it never is, its just included in the text about the transaxle etc...
maybe VW didn't find out until GL5 was released....
and didn't want to alarm anyone....

Lee

yeh, i've read that a different oil should be used for storage too. I think GL5 wasn't released yet when those manuals were published. The GL4 oil I use is Penrite 80W-85. It doesn't actually state that it's hypoid on the pack though. It does state that it's for gearboxes and won't corode any yellow metals...

i couldnt find any GL4 and was running a GL5 syntrax castrol oil in my type 1 box.

oil is drained presently as car is off the road for some gearbox work and i got some more GL5 90 weight cause i couldnt find GL4.

i hope its not going to ruin things.

No, it seems its OK to run it in Your gearbox...
just not to store it...
it corrodes the zinc used in bushes in the gearbox.
but it doesn't do anything while ithe gearbox is being used

Most late workshop manuals say to use GL4 80 grade Hypoid gearbox oil because of the angles of the Differential
drive pinion and crownwheel.

Lee

shaihulud wrote:I recently replaced the oil in my gear box with hypoid 85 oil and a tube of molybdenum disulphide to reduce a rumble. It worked for a while but the rumble is back. When reversing out of home on a cold morning the car doesn't want to roll as the oil is so thick. Once warmed up it's OK.

I've always used an additive in the gearbox of every car I've owned.
Molybdenum disulphide is the best.. IMHO..
although I've been using NULON for a few years..

When buying oil for Your VW gearbox, You have to remember its a transaxle [gearbox and differential] not just a gearbox..

Lee

Ahhh..... Moly grease is designed for sliding surfaces Ie: bushes and pin.
Moly disulphide on roller and ball bearings can promote skidding of the balls/rollers and can lead to an early and untimely death of them.
Now there are a lot of dudes that have used the stuff in gearboxes and swear by it....but...........
l8tr
E

tassupervee wrote:Ahhh..... Moly grease is designed for sliding surfaces Ie: bushes and pin.
Moly disulphide on roller and ball bearings can promote skidding of the balls/rollers and can lead to an early and untimely death of them.
Now there are a lot of dudes that have used the stuff in gearboxes and swear by it....but...........
l8tr
E

I wish I hadn't read this..... lol

Moly grease is recommended by VWs for wheel bearings etc...

but moly in the gearbox [VW says no additives are necessary]

Lee

i have used 1 tube of molybond in every gearbox in every manual vw i have ever owned and will always do so ,before and after are so different its hard to believe its the same bag of bolts:beer:beer:beer even the late mk4 fwd golf

toplessbug wrote:i have used 1 tube of molybond in every gearbox in every manual vw i have ever owned and will always do so ,before and after are so different its hard to believe its the same bag of bolts:beer:beer:beer even the late mk4 fwd golf

I take it that it makes a very noticable improvment then? My gearbox is fine, but some more smoothness wouldn't go astray...

absolutely,the only thing it wont help with (of course) is the selector bush behind the gearshift ,if thats the cause of hard shifting,:beer:beer:beer

so just get this stuff from any auto shop?

RISKY^VW wrote:repco sold me straight 80 oil
after they cheaked the book
???

after "checking the book", repco also told me that a radiator cap for a 73 L bug was a genuine only part, and i could pick one up from my nearest genuine VW parts shop.

i have 80-90... should pick up some of that nulon stuff though

toplessbug wrote:i have used 1 tube of molybond in every gearbox in every manual vw i have ever owned and will always do so ,before and after are so different its hard to believe its the same bag of bolts, even the late mk4 fwd golf

Now thats what I did want to hear...
I used to use molybond years ago...
I haven't seen it about in recent years..
and have been using NULON but I would prefer Molybond..

Lee

thread grave digging I know, but I'm curious to see if anyone has used either 'Morleys'(sp?) or 'Lucas' heavy oil stabiliser additives in their gearbox and are thier perceptions of it's effects - if any. The ratios of additive-to-oil are much higher than the Nulon stuff and I was wondering if it would suit the transaxel of a bug..

FYI: I was using Penrite 80W-85 GL4 light gear oil and I found that the shifiting got sticky after a freeway stint. I think it was a bit too thin. I'm using Valvoline 85W-90 GL5 oil now, and I've found an improvement already. There's still a difference in shifting when it's cold (quite good in fact!) compared to when it's at operating temp and I'd like to bridge that gap..

[ Edited on 15-1-07 by oval TOFU ]

I've seen the Morleys and Lucas stuff in shops...
Never spoken to anyone who has used it...
I'm presuming its very expensive????

Some one told Me recently the only oil to use in a VW transaxle was LSX90...
I'm presuming its Castrol??
it out dates everything that was written years ago about transaxle oils....

I have been looking to buy a small bottle of PRO-MAR which about 10+ years ago was very common...
its Molydebunium disulphide... plus additives about 300mls ??
it was like Avon.... not sold in shops... but I have looked on the internet and it doesn't come up...??
I wanted to get another bottle for My replacement gearbox...

Lee

tassupervee wrote:Ahhh..... Moly grease is designed for sliding surfaces Ie: bushes and pin.
Moly disulphide on roller and ball bearings can promote skidding of the balls/rollers and can lead to an early and untimely death of them.
Now there are a lot of dudes that have used the stuff in gearboxes and swear by it....but...........
l8tr
E

This stuff was used in late Beetles front and rear wheel bearings.... and didn't have to be changed..
was called life long grease...
also in CV Joints...
and all CV Joint greases I've read about...
it works wonders with old CV Joints...

I'd rather use it than clay based green greases...

Lee

68AutoBug wrote:I've seen the Morleys and Lucas stuff in shops...
Never spoken to anyone who has used it...
I'm presuming its very expensive????
Lee

It's under $20 for about 500ml. So it's cheaper (by volume) than the Nulon stuff... but you have to use more of it.. so it evens out I think.

So, anyone on here using it in their gearbox???

the little gadgets they have to show you how it works
seems to make a big difference...

good thing about gearboxes, once You add this stuff You don't need to change it until something happens... or
at least the oil change would be in a few years time....

Lee

Have a look at how Moreys/Lucas works in gears here:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

Has anyone used penrite 10/10ths 75-90 synthetic ?? or any synthetic for that matter ??

there is a fair bit on synths in STF ,personally i will stick to dino's with my molybond, if you read the specs it will tell you that the average particle size is .5 micron ,which cannot possibly promote skidding etc as bearing tolerances are MUCH greater.

TECHNICAL DATA
The information enclosed in this Technical Bulletin is as up to date and correct as possible as at the time of issue. The data
provided in this Technical Bulletin should be used as a guide only, as the performance of the product will vary depending on differing
operating conditions and application methods.
The sale of any product described in this Technical Bulletin will be in accordance with ITW Polymers & Fluids Pty Ltd Conditions of
Sale, a copy of which is available on request. To the extent permitted by law, ITW Polymers & Fluids Pty Ltd excludes all other
warranties in relation to this product.
Date last modified April 2002 T0281
MOLYBOND Formula 2.5
Oil additive containing molybdenum disulphide
Description
Molybond Formula 2.5 is a mineral oil dispersion containing 20% by weight of colloidal molybdenum disulphide,
meeting the DEF2304 purity specification. The average particle size of the colloidal molybdenum disulphide is less
than half a micron. Formula 2.5 is intended for addition directly to oil systems which enables the benefits of wear
reduction to be achieved without changing oil.
Areas of application
• Gearboxes
• Crankcases
• Engines
• Differentials
Features
• Available in 40g tube
• Reduces friction and wear
• Accelerates the running-in process
• Reduces oil temperature
• Reduces noise in gearboxes
Directions for use
Molybond Formula 2.5 is designed for addition to most lubricating oil systems, with the amount required, varying with
the end use of the lubricating oil. A general guide is as follows:-
Hydraulic systems 2 tubes per 10 litres of oil
Automotive Engines 2 tubes per 5 litres of oil
Gear & Differentials 1 tube per litre of oil
WARNING:- Formula 2.5 can reduce friction of oil lubricated clutches.
Technical data
Appearance ..............................................Black Liquid
Molybdenum Disulphide content................20%
Type of oil base .........................................Mineral oil
Australia New Zealand
ITW Polymers & Fluids Pty Ltd ITW Polymers & Fluids
100 Hassall Street, Wetherill Park, NSW, 2164 18-26 Amelia Earhart Ave, Airport Oaks, Mangere
Phone: (02) 9757 8800 Phone: 09 256 2122
Fax: (02) 9757 3855 Fax: 09 256 2124
Health & safety information
The product is hazardous. A Material Safety Datasheet is available from the Rocol Customer Services
Department upon request.
standard abec tolerances are in the order of 8 microns in the raceway runout for bearings to 30mm O.D after that it gets much greater :beer:beer:beer

Thanks for that....
thats what I'll use... the old Molybond....

Lee

Where does one obtain this Molybond?

mmm what an essay, 85-90weight with nulon is looking like the easiest.

So everyone reckons the Nulon stuff is ACTUAL beneficial?

It made amazing difference to my sons MG Midget, before stiff and notchy, short time after quick & smooth, just like a VW box

yep. same with my bros old bay.

nasty and noisy, hard to find gears before. even after a recent oil change a few months prior.

changed the oil and added some nulon and much happier. not brand new, but a noticable improvement.

I've been putting nulon in cars for years. Doesn't turn the motor brand new but it helps it a lot. Our old swift had done 250,000 plus kays on the original motor and is still going fine. the friend we gave it too only needed the water pump and clutch changed recently.

Nulon has teflon in it and its supposed to coat parts with the teflon to stop wear....

I have been using it for many years in Mitsubishi cars and have never had any gearbox problems...

I have never really noticed anything though...

I really do prefer Molybond type products...


Lee